Through the first nine months of the year, Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. posted record net income of 24.9 billion yen on record net sales of 429.8 billion yen. That compares to income of 19.5 billion yen on sales of 412.4 billion yen for the first nine months of 2013.
Based on the exchange rate on Sept. 30, 2014, Yokohama recorded income of $227.7 million on sales of $3.9 billion through three quarters of its fiscal 2014. Its income-to-sales ratio was 5.8%.
Operating income increased 6.5%, from 29.9 billion yen to 31.9 billion yen.
Driving the record nine-month sales performance were gains in Yokohama’s core tire operations, led by growth in original equipment business in Japan and by growth in overseas markets. Yokohama also posted growth in industrial products and in other products, led by strong growth in sealants and adhesives and in golf equipment.
The nine-month gains in sales and profitability benefited greatly from declining prices for raw materials and the weakening of the yen.
Tire operations
Yokohama’s nine-month sales in tire operations increased 4.4% over the same period of the previous year, to 337.5 billion yen, and operating income increased 12.7%, to 24.8 billion yen. The company’s Japanese sales of original equipment tires increased, boosted by domestic growth in unit vehicle production.
Yokohama also posted gains in Japanese sales of replacement tires, both in unit volume and in value. Those gains reflected a surge in demand in advance of the April hike in Japan’s national sales tax; growth in sales of snow tires, stimulated by heavy snowfall; and stepped-up promotion of Yokohama’s BluEarth line of fuel-saving tires.
The sales growth overseas included gains in China and in Europe.
Full-year projections
For the full year, Yokohama abides by the projections that it announced in August:
* net sales of 635 billion yen, up 5.5%;
* operating income of 63 billion yen, up 11.2%; and
* net income of 42 billion yen, up 20.0%.
The company has announced the annual dividend will total 26 yen per share, up 4 yen over the previous year: an interim dividend of 12 yen and a year-end dividend of 14 yen, each up 2 yen.
